Battery installation.



L. Y. SPEAR L G. B. EDGAR.

BATTERY INSTALLATION.

APPLIUATION FILED 111.11.13, 1911.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

2 SHEETS-BHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS y L. Y. SPEAR & G. B. EDGAR.I

y BATTERY INSTALLATION.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13, 1911.

Patented Apr. 15, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE- LAWRENCE Y. srEAn ANDGEANT E. EDGAR, or cUrNcY, MASSACHUSETTS, AssicN- ORS T0 ELECTRIC BOATCOMPANY, 0F N A JERSEY.

Ew Yonx, N. Y., A eonPonATIoN 0E NEW BATTERY INSTALLATION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led laruh 13, 1911. Serial No. 614,068.

To all Lc/wm it may conca/'n Be it known that we, LAwnENcn Y. SPEAK andGRANT E. EDGAR, both residing 'at Quincy, Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Battery Installations; and we dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled Vin the art towhich 1t appcrtains to make and use thev same.

The invention relates to primary or seeondary battery installationsandmore particularly such as are used on marine vessels, railroad carsand automobiles, and it has for its objects, an improved form of tank tohold the battery, an improved' forni of ventilation to draw the gasesfrom within such a tank, and means for automatically closing theVentilating pipes upon submergence of' the tank.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of ourinvention, Figure l, is a plan view of the battery installation,

\ the cover being broken away to show the cellularq compartments withinthe tank; 2, is a sectional elevation on line 2.--2 of Fig. 1 and Fig.3, is a sectional elevation on line Bf of Fig. 1, showing particularlythe valves in the Ventilating pipes.

The box consists of an outer tank 1, and an inner tank 3 with an openspace 2 separating the two on the sides and bottom. The outer tank isconstructed of metal or other suitable material and is lined on theinside with suitable material 4, as lead, to prevent electrolyte fromgetting out of the outer tank and then corroding the iron parts of theboat or other supporting structure. The inner tank is supported on theouter tank by the transverse members 5 suitably spaced to rovide theproper support and bearing sur ace.

The inner tank 3 is constructed of wood or other insulating material andhas longitudinal and transverse partitions 6 and 7 respectively, whichserve to separate the inner tank into cellular compartments for thereception of the battery cells 8. The

vtransverse partitions 7 do not reach the top opening ofadjacent'partitions that air, pro` pelled through the ducts, must passback 'and -forththrough the longitudinal ducts in porting structure iskept within the battery tank even when spilled .from the cellsI as theresult of the rocking motionof the boat.

The outer tank is provided with a cover of the lon- 12 which sitstightly on the top gitudinal partitions and overlies the edges of theouter tank. An angle 13 extendsconipletely around the tank 4and is flushwit-h the top of the cover.- The cover is com` pletely covered with asheet et rubber, oilcloth or other suitable Water-proof material 14which forms a Water-tight joint with the an le 13 -when the battens orstrips 15 are tig tly secured by clamps 16. '.lhe cover 14 1s cut out toallow the entrance of the ventilating pipes, but is lield down againstthe cover of the tank by the flanges which suis round the pipes to holdthem in position. When it is desired tol uncover the tank, theVentilating pipes are removed and the clamps 16 are loosened so that thehattens 4may be lifted. The cover 14 is then pulled otl' and the cover12 is removed in sections or as a unit depending upon its construction.

Extending through the cover is an inlet pipe 17 and an outlet pipe 18.These pipes are at opposite sides of the tank, being on the same end ifthere is an even number of longitudinal ducts, and on. different ends itthere is an odd number of longitudinal ducts. vThe air which is made toenter through the pipe 17 by any known means passes over the firstlongitudinal row of cells, through the first opening 10 in thepartition, to the next row, and thence serially over the remaining cellsto the outlet pipe 18. In this Way each cell is swept by the current ofair and dangerous pockets of gases are avoided. Both the inlet and theoutlet pipes contain a valve which is automatically closed uponsubmergence of the releasing mechanism. "When water covers the top ofthe tank to a sufficient depth, the float 19, rises and lifts the catch20-in the chamber 21. The shutter 22 is then free to be closed by theaction of the depending Weight 23. In this way the cells are entirelyprotected from the ingress of water, even upon complete sulnnergence ofthe tank. When'it is desired to close the valvein the inlet or outletpipe, theloat 19 is manually, raised until the catch 20de out ofengagement with the shutter 22. whereupon the shutter is -pulled downand held tightly over the .pipe b v the weighted Varm 23. To open eitherof the valves, the weighted arin 23 is lifted by hand until the shutter22 is caught by the catch 20.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is:

1. In a battery installation, a battery tank, a plurality of rowsOfbattery cells 1n said tank, a cover for`said tank, air inlet andoutlet pipes passing into said tank, and partitions between the rows ofbattery cells reaching to said coverand having openings at alternateends only so that the air ducts over said cells are in series throughouttheir length between said pipes.

2. ln a battery installation, a'tank for bat- `iery cells, and awater-tight cover for said tank, said cover comprising a part coveringthe tank in such manner as not to exclude water, and a water-proof partextending over the edges of the tank, bat-tens on the \\'ater-'proot'part extending completely around the edges of the tank, and clampsadapted to hold the battens tirinly in place in order to prevent theentrance of water between said cover parts at the edges ofthe tank uponsubmergence thereof.v

3. ln a battery installation, a tank for battery cells, a cover for saidtank, air inlet and outlet pipes through said cover, and longitudinalpartitions in the tank reaching to said cover and having openings atalternate ends only so that the longitudinal air ducts over said cellsare in series throughout their length between said pipes. l

4. In a battery installation, an inner tank for battery cells, an outertank, a space between said tanks, a cover over the outer tank, air inletand outlet pipes through said cover, and longitudinal partitions in theinner tank reaching to the cover and having openings at alternate endsonly so'that the longitiulinal air ducts over saidcells are in seriesthroughout their length between said ipes.

5. In a battery installation, an inner tank v containing battery cellsclosely fitted therein, an outer tank, a space between said tanks, acover over the outer tank, and an opening from the inner tank to thespace between the tanks whereby electrolyte spilling from the cellscollects in the space'between the tanks.

6.,In a battery installation, a tank for battery cells, a water-tightcover over said tank, air inlet and outlet pipes through said cover witha water-tight joint, and ay sealf and close to said cover, whereby thetanklmay. be

ing valve located in each of said pi etectuallysealed from -withoutfji2i." s

`7.1-In` a-"battery installation, a tankfor battery cells, a water-tightcover. over said tank', air inlet and outlet pipes through said coverwith. water-tight joints, and sealing valves having releasing mechanismadapted to automatically close both of the pipes against the entrance ofwater upon submergence of thetank.

8. In a battery installation, a tank for battery cells, a water-tightcover over said tank, air inlet and outlet pipes through said cover withwater-tight joints, and a sealing valve located in each of said pipesclose to said cover and having releasing mechanism adapted toautomatically close the pipes against the ent-rance of water uponsubmergence, and a weight adapted to hold the valve eifeetually closed.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signa' tures, iii presence of twowitnesses.

LAWRENCE Y. SPEAR. GRANT E. EDGAR.

Witnesses:

F. L. BRAKE, J E. FITZGERALD, Jr.

